Displacements and Vulnerabilities: A Conference on Forced Migration and Media in South Asia
First conference of the South Asia Network for Communication, Displacement and Migration (SAN-CDM) Patan, Nepal, February 4th to 7th 2023
Organised by Calcutta Research Group, in collaboration with DW Akademie
Last date for applications: 09.12.2022
Introduction:
The South Asia Consultations: Media, Information and Participation in Displacement Settings held between December 2021- March 2022, pointed at the interconnected and common challenges to media reporting on migration issues in the region, challenges exacerbated by the changing nature of newsrooms, complex political issues seeking to benefit from the representation of the migrant and refugees negatively, and heightened risk of climate change induced displacement across the region.
The interdisciplinary South Asia Network for Communication, Displacement and Migrant (SAN-CDM) has been constituted to build on the findings of the ‘Consultations’ process and further explore measures to mitigate these challenges, to enhance the participation of refugees and migrants in public discourse, to enable communication and knowledge sharing between stakeholders across the region and to create a more responsive regional media culture. In its first conference, we will seek to further the aims of the network by discussing relevant and emerging areas of concern in the region, learn from each other about best practices, bolster information and story-sharing.
Themes & Sessions (indicative, not exhaustive):
Hierarchies of Vulnerabilities
The regional consultation pointed at the difficulties and structural challenges that lead to less reporting on migrant and refugee issues—it also stressed that even within larger news reporting concerned with migration, certain sections get less or no attention—sections which we are choosing to call (hierarchies of) vulnerabilities.
This also signals that the hierarchies are changing and shifting, for example, vulernabilities of (young) men and women differ, occur on different levels, in certain contexts young men might end up being more vulnerable than young women, nuances and categories that reporting might often lose. The hierarchies may be structural, biological/ physical, locational, economic—each deepening with crisis and displacement. Which vulnerabilities in migration and displacement settings remain unaddressed in the media, and how may we best represent them?
Reporting in the Wake of Climate Disaster
The devastating floods in Pakistan (2022), the massive death toll, resulting displacement (both Pakistani citizens and Afghan refugees) highlights the global nature of climate catastrophe, in which poorer, tropical nations such as those in South Asia are forced to bear the brunt of extreme weather events, water level rise,
increasing cyclones, glacial lake bursts, floods, drought, shoulder the massive environmental, financial and human burden of the global carbon footprint. Climate catastrophe does not stop at national boundaries—the nations of South Asia together stand to lose the most in this crisis. However, media reporting in and of the region has substantially concentrated on spectacular and catastrophic events, not addressing connecting and recurring issues. Climate migration is a present threat for South Asia, with one study estimating 50 million climate refugees in Bangladesh itself by 2050. Which are the stories of climate migration that need to be told?
How to Tell an Arresting Tale: Training Session
The training session will help interested participants develop human interest stories, stories of resilience and hope, promote solution-oriented journalism and find means of empowering refugees and migrants to bring their own stories to the mainstream. Participants are encouraged to bring their case studies / stories to the workshop and develop them for a global audience.
At the Cross-section of Vulnerabilities: Nepal in Focus
More than 70 migrant workers from Nepal have perished during the months leading up to the Qatar world cup, 7500 migrant workers since 2008. Nepal continues to be one of the largest labor migrant producing countries in the region—relying heavily on remittances. The delicate and diverse ecology of Nepal, various development and agricultural projects, the 2015 earthquake etc. together make the contemporary migration situation in Nepal complex and multifaceted. Making use of our location in Nepal, the network will try to enrich its understanding of the complex migration issues relevant to Nepal, through discussions with media persons, civil society actors, journalists and community members.
Call for applications:
Calcutta Research Group (CRG: www.mcrg.ac.in) invites applications from media persons, researchers and representatives of civil society based in South Asia for this conference cum workshop on migration and refugee issues in the South Asian context, to be held physically in Nepal, on 4th to 7th February, 2023. Please send us a statement of purpose, including a suggestion of what activity/input/presentation you would like to offer at the conference along with a short bio note, CV, and samples of your work, to [email protected]. Subject heading: Application to SAN-CDM conference, Nepal 2022.
Late date for applications: 09.12.2022.
